Paynter Watch: Top Thoroughbred Colt Diagnosed with Post-Colitis Laminitis in New York

Paynter in his stall at a vet hospital near Saratoga. (Zayat Twitter photo)

You could hear a collective moan rise from the world of Thoroughbred racing today.

Paynter has laminitis.

For the past month, the racing press has been reporting on the condition of top three-year-old colt Paynter, trained by California's Bob Baffert. Paynter is owned by Zayat Racing Stable.

After winning the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on July 29, the colt was transferred to a New Jersey vet clinic, then released a few days later. Few details about his condition were available but it was clear that both his connections and his fans hoped to see him run in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

Paynter was sent to Belmont to recover and then moved to Saratoga, where he was reported to be in light training.

Paynter (turquoise cap) finished a game second in the Belmont Stakes in June and then went on to win the Haskell Invitational on July 29. (Mike Lizzi photo)

However, last week Paynter was admitted to the Upstate Equine Medical Center in nearby Schuylerville, New York. It was confirmed that the horse was suffering from colitis, a severe infection of the horse's digestive tract that involves extensive and debilitating diarrhea. Severe and sudden laminitis is a common side-effect of colitis in horses.

A moving tribute to the colt spontaneously erupted on Twitter as hundreds of people tweeted the mantra-like hashtag, "#PowerupPaynter" throughout the weekend.

It seemed like a miracle when, on Monday, the owners tweeted that the horse was improving.

In what might be a new trend for news gatherers in horse sports, the horse's condition has been reported via the Twitter accounts of Justin and Ahmed Zayat.

Earlier this afternoon, Justin's flying fingers tweeted, in poignant 140-character bursts:

"Unfortunately we have a very sick horse who has developed serious complications in the last 24 hours. 

"Other than fighting bravely his colitis, he continues to have diarrhea as well as his protein blood level is very low. We continue to give him plasma to help him out. His blood work continues to be good as well as his temp so on a standalone basis he is fighting bravely and hard...

"...He is developing a new issue about his veins being swollen, a disease that is called DIC which stands for 'disseminated intravascular coagulopathy'.

"...The most concerning news is as of last night he started becoming sore on his left foot and was scared to turn around and walk on it..unfortunately we only thought it was some swelling...but it has worsened because today he has been diagnosed with our nightmare scenario of laminitis.

"...It seems it is rapidly progressing after...additional x-rays of the foot and discussing with some foot experts, Dr. Laura (Javsicas) (has) found out that he has developed it in three of his four legs, which is heartbreaking. 

"...Poor Paynter, I don't know how long he can fight this out so bravely without having pain and suffering. So far (Dr. Laura) is very conscious of that and having his pain under control. 

"But we need to look at all these problems. My deep concern is that if he is a healthy horse he can fight laminitis since it is the beginning but to be a sick horse and fight all these issues all at once, it is asking for too much. 

"We need to be compassionate and merciful and treat our star with the respect and love that he deserves while giving him the best chance in fighting for his life."

The prognosis for horses suffering from colitis is grim. Acute post-colitis laminitis can be especially sudden and severe and bears little resemblance to laminitis seen in otherwise healthy horses.

Ice baths have been documented in Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit studies to prevent laminitis in horses with colitis. As described by Mark Andrews MRCVS in Equine Sciene Update, 

"One treatment that (Dr. Chris) Pollitt has shown to be effective in preventing laminitis is cryotherapy, using iced water....

"'It is important that the ice water comes up to just below the knee. If only the foot is cooled laminitis still occurs.

"'We don't yet know how long this protective effect would last. But horses with toxic colitis (which often causes laminitis) have been treated successfully with an ice-water bath. The clinicians involved believe that it has prevented laminitis.'"

Paynter appears to be wearing ice boots on his legs.

To learn more:

Laminitis: What treatment at what stage? by Dr. Chris Pollitt (sign-in required)

Pharmacy sued over horse deaths at Saratoga

Veterinary Report for Miners Frolic: European Champion Event Horse “Stable But Seriously Ill” (London Olympic silver medalist event horse Miner's Frolic survived colitis a year ago and returned to competition)

Slide show of a post-colitis laminitis case in the care of farrier Adam Whitehead

Good article explaining colitis

Brush up on equine foot anatomy with innovate 3-D animated images. Order now!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Research: Clayton and Bowker's “Effects of Barefoot Trimming on Hoof Morphology” Focuses on Incremental Heel Recovery

"Lights, cameras, heel angles..." Dr. Hilary Clayton uses the most advanced data collection and analysis systems in the world to track how horses move, grow, stand or even sway. Her electronics matched with Dr Robert Bowker's anatomy studies have placed Michigan State University at the epicenter of global hoof research. Since both Clayton and Bowker espouse the advantages of barefoot hoofcare, it's natural that a study with both names as authors would be published. (McPhail Center photo)

Hilary Clayton, BVMS, PhD, MRCVS has an office in the airy, bright new Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center, a state-of-the art equine sports and lameness facility at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. It’s chock full of video equipment, sensors, high-tech saddles that need to be tested or patented, sensors, force plates, remote controls and did I mentioin sensors? There’s a feeling that if something is going to affect a change in the future for horses, its route passes through this building. You also have to wonder what the electric bill is. Everything plugs in and has a stand-by red light glowing in the dark. The sensors are always ready.

Across the parking lot looms the main vet college building and large animal hospital. You go inside and enter a labyrinth of corridors. You descend stairs. Pipes rattle. You walk down more hallways. Turn some corners. And at some point, you stumble into a place that is the antithesis of Dr Clayton’s futuristic electronic world.

You’re facing a mountain of coffin bones. Over here are some old farrier books, and through the microscope, you think you see what the classic professor Robert Bowker PhD DVM wants you to see, that a coffin bone can and does have evidence of osteoporosis.

In this lab, things pile up. They get dusty. The information is layered like the strata of a carefully dug herb garden. Deep historical reference compost and intellectual top soil combine here to make ideas grow. Theories and what-ifs sprout like weeds after a summer shower.

On weekends, Dr. Clayton's interest in dressage makes her showing schedule a living laboratory: she competes her horses unshod. Until last year, her veteran horse MSU MAGIC J competed at the grand prix level. Up-and-coming MSU FANFARE, shown here, currently leads the US Dressage Federation standings in dressage freestyle at second level. Both horses were bred by the university and selected by Dr Clayton for their movement characteristics, not their conformation. She looked for horses with good movement, instead of horses that looked like they could move.

Hilary Clayton calibrates a set of sequential video cameras and hits the “on” switch. Robert Bowker digs a little deeper, reaching for a certain specimen he knows is under the pile. He turns an idea around and realizes he forgot to stop for lunch. And that was hours ago.

Both these laboratories and both these professors study the horse’s foot...at the same university. Both are at the top of the game, and in spite of their proximity, they couldn’t be approaching the hoof from more different perspectives.

And what are the odds that if two professors at the same university were studying the same structure, they’d share a common point of view? Or that they could possibly collaborate on a research project?

College professors are often, by nature, protective of their turf. Someone else on the same campus studying the same thing should be a threat. But Clayton and Bowker have managed to put their well-stocked heads together on research for several years.

This week the latest product of their thinking-alike-but-acting-differently collaboration is a paper on how hoof morphology is influenced by a specific method of barefoot trimming. The paper was published in the Australian Veterinary Journal.

For anyone not familiar with the term, morphology is the study of shape, form and structure in nature. We use the word “morph” colloquially as a verb. When you “morph” into something else, you are changing shape or form.

Foot diagram for trimming protocol. The paper does not contain the word "breakover".

Make no mistake: this paper is not going to tell you how to rehab a horse's hoof. It is, however, going to give more credence to the idea that a specific method of barefoot trimming can successfully achieve a precise goal. Because it did, in the hands of Clayton, Bowker et al.

To be clear, Dr. Clayton is listed as the lead author, with Bowker's name fourth. His inclusion in the study is evident in the discussion section, where information on sensory nerves in the foot is shared. His inclusion also means the study is destined for wide readership among his many followers.

The paper begins with an important sentence that bears repeating. Memorize it: "There is little scientific data describing the effects of any type of barefoot trim, particularly in horses that participate in regular exercise in a riding arena, or how such trimming may affect the overall conformation and health of the foot for an extended period of time."

The problem: horses with mildly underrun heels. The goal: palmar/plantar migration of the heel area of the hoof, increase in heel angle and support length, and an increase in solar angle of the coffin bone. The hypothesis: it's possible.

Michigan State University's McPhail Center is where horses, data and electronics come together.

And not only is it possible, it's possible to do it with a rasp, not a wedge pad or a horseshoe. It's possible to do it so that the inside structures are not disturbed by cranking the hoof capsule into alignment in one shoeing, running the risk of creating separations and flares and adding strain to repositioned ligaments and tendons.

The research project achieved its goals, but it is important to note that this was achieved not by removing shoes, but by applying a specific trimming technique and repeating it, over and over and over.

In the end, the heel angle increased an average of almost nine degrees. The difference between toe and heel angle decreased from 13.8 to 7.2 degrees during the one-year maintenance period.

There are some key elements to this study that must be understood: The horses lived in a pasture, not in stalls. They received regular daily exercise (one to three hours) under saddle on a sand arena in a riding program five days a week. The horses were all Arabians of similar height and weight and age (average 13.6 years).

The horses in the study were barefoot before the research began, so they did not have to go through a transition-to-barefoot period. They were trimmed by one farrier (Cappi Roghan, who deserves some credit) throughout the study; he understood his assignment and acquiesced to stick to the program.

In the end, this study is not a victory for barefoot over shoes. This is a victory for showing that trimming alone can achieve a morphological change.

It just takes a lot of time, that's all.

The timeline of the study would not be considered a victory. It took four months of conscientious trimming to reshape the horses’ hooves, and then 12 additional months for the hoof to grow and stabilize in order to complete the study and prove the trim's effect. The authors felt that 16 months was required, based on the premise that a horse’s hoof grows an average of one centimeter per month, so that each horse, by the end of the study, would have had ample time to grow a completely new hoof.

The interesting aspects of the study are the way that the hoof morphology changed in one aspect then changed back. For instance, the area of the frog initially increased, then decreased.

The authors suggest that the horses’ feet at the beginning of the study illustrated the characteristics of wild horses living on soft sandy substrate, as documented by Brian Hampson PhD at the University of Queensland in his recently completed doctoral thesis, The Effects of Environment on the Feral Horse Foot.

The increase in toe angle during the initial transition period was an average of 2.7 degrees. Because this change was gradual, the authors commented that the trimming technique allowed the foot’s internal structures to gradually adapt, without any pathological consequences such as wall flares.

It should also be noted that the authors concurred that the goals of the trimming—palmar/plantar migration of the heels, increases in heel angle and support length, and increased solar angulation of the coffin bone -- are potentially beneficial to the health of the foot.

The key sentence to this study is found near the end of the paper: “Current knowledge of hoof structure and dynamics is incomplete and these ideas, while speculative, may provide a stimulus for further research.”

Note: The study was supported by the Bernice Barbour Foundation and the American Quarter Horse Association. The research team consisted of, in addition to Drs Clayton and Bowker, veterinary student Sarah Gray and MacPhail Center lab manager LeeAnn Kaiser.

Citation:

Clayton, H., Gray, S., Kaiser, L. and Bowker, R. (2011), Effects of barefoot trimming on hoof morphology. Australian Veterinary Journal, 89: 305–311. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2011.00806.x

Dr. Clayton on biomechanics of footing for dressage horses, part 1


Dr. Clayton on biomechanics of footing for dressage horses, part 2

To understand the full spectrum of hoof science, it is necessary to consider that it is much more than anatomy and physiology. The hoof is in motion, and how it moves affects its shape, its health and the relative condition of its components. Biomechanics means much more than trying to judge if a horse is landing heel-first or not.

You may need to adjust the volume on your computer. Watch as Dr. Clayton describes the mechanics of how the hoof of a dressage horse interacts with the arena footing. Filmed at the 2007 Adequan/ USDF Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida, this video is available on DVD with several other lectures on hoofcare and lameness from the USDF web site.

The abstract for this article is available online: The Australian Veterinary Journal: Effects of barefoot trimming on hoof morphology. You can also purchase a download of the complete article.

Click on ad image for details; image from Dr. Bowker's research at Michigan State U.

 © Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  
 

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Equine Biomechanics on Broadway: Technical Videos Preview What the Audience Won't See When War Horse Opens in April

If you're new to War Horse, this video from London explains a bit about the play and shows some scenes of the horse puppet in action.

Everyone will soon be talking about the USA Broadway premiere of London's long-running hit stage play, War Horse. I've been writing about it on this blog and everywhere else that would allow me since it launched in 2007. Now we have a chance in the USA to experience the story of Joey the plow horse sent to France in World War I.

Joey's not a real horse, of course. He's a puppet, and one of the most clever puppets you'll ever see. But a few minutes into the play, you'll completely forget that he's made of cane and cloth and that there are two people inside him.

I'm so excited to share this video with you. This TED lecture explains the origin of the puppets with the creators from South Africa's Handsprings Puppet Company.

War Horse has played to sold-out audiences in London for the past few years, and it has brought attention to the fact that a million horses died in World War I.  It's an anti-war story, of course; Joey belongs to a boy who is heart-broken when his horse is sold to the British Army. He sets off to rescue his horse who is meanwhile deep into the war. What the boy finds carries quite a moving message.

In this video, you'll meet War Horse's equine choreographer, Toby Sedgwick, whose job it is to make sure that the puppet moves and "acts" like a real horse. This video also has great close-ups of the design of the feet and legs, and was also shot for the New York premiere.

Joey's movements are so life-like that I know Hoof Blog readers will want to know more about how he was built and how he works. His creators gave a TED lecture recently, which was released today, so grab a cup of coffee and invest the next 20 minutes in learning about an outside-the-box application of your knowledge of equine biomechanics.

When you go to see the play, you'll forget all about biomechanics and be absorbed into this horse's-eye-view of the world at war. You'll soon understand what all the buzz is about, and why so many creative people have given so much to make this play such an amazing experience for theater-goers. Make sure you're one of them.

If you can't make it to Manhattan, War Horse is supposed to have shows in Toronto and Los Angeles in the future. And Stephen Spielberg's Dreamworks film of War Horse will be released by Disney on December 28, but with real horses. It was filmed in Dartmoor, England last spring.

I'll see you on Broadway! War Horse opens at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center on April 14, 2011.

Read more about War Horse:
The Jurga Report's first article on the play's opening in London

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Favorite Video: Nicanor, Brother of Barbaro, Will Race for the First Time on Saturday, Two Years After Barbaro's Death

by Fran Jurga | 29 January 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog


Nicanor video courtesy of CBS Evening News with Katie Couric

Two years ago today, veterinarians at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center euthanized 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro when they were unable to help him overcome complications of laminitis that resulted from his hind leg injury in the Preakness Stakes.

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon, and do a double-take: a 3-year-old full brother to Barbaro named Nicanor will make his racing debut in Saturday’s eighth race at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida.

As was the case with Barbaro, Nicanor is owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson in the name of Lael Stables, and he is trained by Michael Matz and ridden by Edgar Prado, just as his brother was.

Saturday’s eighth race is a maiden event at one mile on the dirt. Nicanor is by Dynaformer, out of the mare La Ville Rouge. Nicanor is named based on a painting of foxhounds that the Jacksons own. One of the foxhounds depicted in the portrait is named Barbaro. Another is named Nicanor.

Nicanor's debut race will be run on Saturday’s momentous Gulfstream card between the Grade I, $500,000 Donn Handicap for older horses and the Grade III, $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes for 3-year-olds.

Barbaro is gone, but not forgotten. His legacy has included the donation of what probably totals millions of dollars for laminitis and veterinary research. Following his up and down battle at New Bolton Center captured the attention and affection of thousands of people who might never give a thought to horses or racing. His Fans of Barbaro (FOB) internet group continues to raise funds and awareness about the plight of discarded racehorses.

This blog's readership soared far beyond the subscribership of Hoofcare and Lameness Journal during the eight months of Barbaro's struggle. Many new people became aware of the community trying to help horses with laminitis and hoof problems through our coverage of Barbaro.

The whole world watched that horse struggle. On Saturday, curiosity will get the best of most of us and we'll check the race results from Gulfstream. You never know.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Best of 2008: A Class Act at the McPhail Center's Equinology Gait Seminar

by Fran Jurga | 29 December 2008 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

I had a wild plan and approached Dr. Hilary Clayton of Michigan State University's McPhail Center for Equine Performance with my proposal: a camp for professional at her research center, where we could learn about high-tech gait analysis and help her with a research project.

With her usual British chipper nonchalance, she replied. "Ok, come in October then. It's already in the works." The Equinology group had a course planned at the McPhail Center and it was to be open to equine professionals in search of a deeper exposure to the high-tech side of equine biomechanics.

As it turned out, I wasn't able to be there, but Sarah Miles provided a wonderful report, from which these comments are taken:

The McPhail Center, located at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University in East Lansing, is one of the few university labs designed expressly for studying equine biomechanics. It is a fantastic facility — our classroom looked into the covered riding arena where research staff and students collect data with the horses.

When Dr. Clayton dramatically lifted the curtains on the riding arena the first day, a collective gasp of awe went up from the group. She told us that the building's vaulted ceiling design actually is borrowed from church architecture, so we really were having a religious experience, of sorts! But perhaps that explains the sense of “entering the inner sanctum” that one gets from learning from this world-renowned equine biomechanics expert and her staff and students in the lab designed just for their research.

Of course, what is really interesting about the arena is primarily along one side, where eight infrared video cameras collect data from horses lit like Christmas trees (Dr. Clayton’s words), as their anatomical markers move through the cameras’ shimmering red field of vision. It is one thing to hear Dr. Clayton describe the process of research and data collection, and another to experience it for yourself.

Horses' joints are marked with photosensitive styrofoam balls that will light up under infrared camera exposure. (McPhail Center photo courtesy of Dr Hilary Clayton)

The end result of the gait analysis is a stick-horse animation showing the horse in motion on the computer screen. A further sophistication of this system creates a 3D rendering. (McPhail Center photo courtesy of Dr Hilary Clayton)

Dr. Narelle Stubbs, the equine physiotherapist who co-wrote Activate Your Horse’s Core with Dr. Clayton and lab manager LeeAnn Kaiser helped us to tape all the markers on the horse in the right spots. LeeAnn showed us how they calibrate the cameras, create a template, collect the data, connect the dots, and generate three-dimensional computer animation of the horse in motion. The data is also logged into spreadsheets and analyzed for the results of any given project. Dr. Clayton explained that this technology is very similar to how they created “Golem” in Lord of the Rings.

A lecture by Dr. Clayton on the function of the stifle offered her untested hypothesis (stemming from the fact that the torque on the stifle joint is in the back of the joint) that the horse’s hamstring muscles are more important in the action of the stifle than the quads. Her thinking on this was that dressage horses are asked to work as though they are “sitting.” A student with experience in ballet volunteered the ballerina's plie support system of standing on the toes while engaging the hamstrings and adductors so that the quads are more relaxed and not the sole source of support. He even demonstrated the plie for the class!

In this research project, a rider's rein tension in measured. Rein tension can be compared between riders or to understand how different bits or the components of a bridle and reins are working. (McPhail Center photo courtesy of Dr Hilary Clayton)

Other highlights of the course included how the force plates work, and a riding demonstration of an electronic pad placed beneath the saddle to measure the pressure it puts on the horse’s back as he performs different activities, and an afternoon spent practicing core mobilization and strengthening exercises for horses with Dr. Stubbs.

The winter edition of this Equinology course is held at Writtle College in England in January and is sold out. Equinology’s next USA course, Biomechanics and Gait Analysis (EQ300MSU), with Dr. Clayton at The McPhail Center will be held October 12-15, 2009. An understanding of basic anatomic and veterinary vocabulary is a prerequisite for this class. Visit www.equinology.com for more information.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Lame Brains Unite: Hilary Clayton Gait Study Course Opened to Public

This horse is outfitted for a session of gait analysis in the McPhail Center's world-class video gait analysis laboratory. Equipment at the Center includes a Motion Analysis system, AMTI force plate, Noraxon EMG system, Pliance saddle pressure pad and other custom equipment for making measurements of horses and riders.

Every September, we get the feeling we should be learning something new. Starting back to school. Taking a new interest in our profession. Moving forward with the times.

But we've never had an opportunity like this before.

A private course in equine lameness has been scheduled for next month at Michigan State University's McPhail Center for Equine Performance. The decision was made yesterday to open the course to the public, so this is the first and perhaps only announcement that interested professionals and horse owners may register for a hands-on course in equine gaits and lameness identification with world expert Dr. Hilary Clayton.

The course is offered by the innovative international program Equinology, which offers courses on biomechanics with Dr Clayton and other experts all over the world. The program is designed as a professional development track for those seeking a career in equine body work, rehabilitation, etc. but sometimes courses are open to non-program participants.

Here's a brief description:

Course Title: Biomechanics, Applied Anatomy and Gait Abnormalities (Course # EQ 300)
Course Dates: 10/20/2008 to 10/23/2008

This 4-day course offers both classroom and hands-on approaches. This is an actual course, not a workshop. The goal is for you to learn to recognize irregularities and gait abnormalities. Live and filmed horses, some with diagnosed problems, will be presented for inspection.

Understanding gait diagramming and where the limbs are placed throughout individual gaits enables you to visualize which joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles are utilized for the movements. This course does not attempt to replace veterinary expertise; however it will teach you better assessment skills. Surface anatomy and palpation of joints, tendons and ligaments are also included.

Course topics include:
Gait analysis and evaluation guidelines
Conformation evaluation
Locating palpation points
Causes and symptoms of the lame horse
Subjective analysis of conformation: Limb deviations, rotations and determination of symmetry
Basic anatomy and terminology
Preventing lameness
Defining and diagramming the basic gaits
History of biomechanics
Biomechanical techniques
High Speed Cinematography
Equipometry discussion
Measuring horses
Stay Apparatus: structure, function and palpation of the forelimb
Reciprocal and Stay Apparatus: structure, function and palpation of the hindlimb
Structure and function of the head and neck
Sports analysis/video presentations & problem solving for various disciplines

Prerequisites: A good knowledge of veterinary vocabulary, equine anatomy and horse handling skills; you will be expected to have read Dr Clayton's book, The Dynamic Horse.

Tuition: $995 for four days.

Note: Equinology and Dr Clayton will also offer this course at Writtle College in Essex, England in January 2009.

About the center: The Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center is a state-of-the art equine sports and lameness facility housed in its own mini-campus with dedicated indoor arena, stabling and laboratories at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine in East Lansing, Michigan. Since the center opened in the year 2000, some of the world's leading research in equine sports medicine and biomechanics, culminating in world-renowned research to benefit performance and soundness of equine athletes, has been conducted at the center. Veterinarians and researchers from all over the world travel to the McPhail Center for consultation and collaboration.

About Dr Clayton: Dr. Clayton has been the first incumbent of the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine since July, 1997. As a veterinarian and researcher, Dr. Clayton's studies on the biomechanics of equine gait have focused on sport horses, including dressage and jumping horses. Her work has included videographic analytic studies of Olympic dressage and jumping events and kinematic and kinetic research with some of the world's top dressage riders and horses in the Netherlands. She has a special interest in the foot and has contributed greatly to the body of knowledge on the role of the foot in locomotion and its functional anatomy. A lifelong rider, Dr. Clayton is a USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold Medalist, and is a certified equestrian coach in the UK and Canada. She is the author of several books including Conditioning Sport Horses, The Dynamic Horse, Clinical Anatomy of the Horse, and Activate Your Horse's Core. She is co-author of the textbook, Equine Locomotion, and is a longstanding consulting editor with Hoofcare and Lameness Journal, which also sells her publications.

To learn more, visit equinology.com or to register, use the online system. If you have questions, contact Debranne Pattillo, President of Equinology, in Gualala, California: tel 707 884-9963 or email office@equinology.com. Please mention that you read about the course on this blog and that you are inquiring about course EQ300.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. All images and text property of the McPhail Center and/or Hoofcare Publishing and protected to full extent of law.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online or received via a daily email through an automated delivery service.
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A Treat for the Eyes: Unusual Painting of Forge at Night Exhibited at Yale

If you are anywhere near New Haven, Connecticut between now and Sunday, get yourself to the Center for British Art at Yale University. Inside that modern cubist block of a structure you will find this very romantic painting, "A Blacksmith Shop" by the British artist Joseph Wright of Derby, painted in 1771.

I am sorry that I didn't know sooner that the painting was going to be in the United States. It was only there briefly, and is now headed back to its home at the Walker Art Gallery of the Liverpool Museum in Liverpool, England.

If you double-click on the image I have embedded, you can see some of the fantastic detail enlarged.

Wright specialized in portrait painting but had a "thing" for painting scenes lit by candlelight or, in this case, forge light. I have admired this painting for years and would have loved to see it in person. He was a pioneer, as painters rarely sought out places like mines and blacksmith shops to paint. I imagine him painting lovely portraits of totally boring aristocrats by day, and sneaking out to paint his candlelit scenes at night.

The story of the painting is that the farriers were called out at night to shoe a traveling family's horse that needed to keep going. The painting catches the welding moment; the boy by the anvil is hiding his face from the sparks. The well-dressed fellow in the foreground is leaning on a hammer. What do you think those lads in the back with the candle are up to? The forge appears to be in the ruins of a church or something; note that the night sky can be seen through a giant rip in the wall above the hanging horseshoes. Obviously, there is a lot of mystery in this painting.

Wright put layers of gold leaf between the layers of paint to try to simulate the glimmering light cast by the hot shoe on the anvil.

Thanks to our old friend Tim Helck, formerly of Summit Tech farrier supplies in New Jersey and now with the New York Times, for bringing the exhibit to my attention. The painting appeared on the paper's web site last week to promote the exhibit.

If you're in Connecticut this week, the Yale Center for British Art is at 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven; (203) 432-2800, ycba.yale.edu.

And if you are in Liverpool, your beautiful painting will be home soon!

Thanks for not stealing this scan as it was very generously loaned by the National Museums, which was very kind of them.

All HoofBlog text and images © Hoofcare Publishing 2008 unless otherwise noted.

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Big Brown's Owner Says Loose Hind Shoe "Not An Issue"

The Blood-Horse is quoting one of Big Brown's owners, Michael Iavarone of IEAH, this morning:

"His feet are ice cold, quarter crack not an issue. He had a very loose hind left shoe, but that’s not an issue."

The jockey complained that the horse was not handling the track well. Various reports from the media describe the track as loose and deep and suggest that the track was not watered because of the water pressure problems at the track yesterday (which left almost 100,000 racegoers without toilets).

(CORRECTION: This turned out to not be the case, according to one eye-witness. The track was watered. The grandstand had no water or toilets, but the track did! Other comments suggest that the holding barn did not have water, either.)

Much has been written about Big Brown's problem-packed front feet, but not much about his hinds. He won the Derby with turndowns on his hinds; turndowns are popular at Churchill Downs, according to crack specialist Tom Curl, who worked on Big Brown's right front foot. My guess is that all or most of the runners in the Derby also had them.

A turndown is the practice of turning the heels of the hind raceplate down so they become, in effect, like mud calks. They are believed to help with traction.

Big Brown's hind shoes were pulled after the Derby and he exercised and lived barefoot behind for a couple of days until Todd Boston, a shoer at Churchill, re-did his hinds.

I don't know what he had on behind for the Preakness but I do know that turndowns are illegal in New York. They do allow a small bend, but no sharp angles, that's for sure. Fred Sellerberg is NYRA's man in the paddock; his job is looking at the shoes. The guy has some sort of x-ray vision and seems to be able to spot an illegal shoe before the horse leaves the holding barn. Or at least he says he can. He just nods his head and says, "Believe me, Fran, I can tell". He is roughly my age and does not wear glasses, so I'm impressed.

Fred also would have seen a loose hind shoe. A paddock shoer, in addition to Fred, is on hand for exactly that reason and occasionally a race is held up in the paddock while a shoe is re-nailed.

So a loose shoe was probably a function of another horse stepping on it during the race or the horse stumbling and grabbing, or just normal wear and tear in the course of the race. Big Brown hit serious traffic problems in the first mile of the race and one ABC commentator suggested that he may even have been kicked by Da'Tara as he came up too close and had to be pulled back.

Watch the replay on slow-motion mode; at times it looks like Big Brown is a carousel horse, going up in the air, although still making forward progress.
Even more likely is that it was pulled loose when Big Brown was yanked up by the jockey. There are some dismal photos of the horse in biomechanical disarray as the rest of the horses charge past him. I wonder how his mouth feels today.

Tale of Ekati received a tough gash in the race and has a pretty serious wound on his leg, according to trainer Barclay Tagg.

When Rags to Riches didn't come back after the Belmont last year, she was sent to New Bolton Center for a complete medical and orthopedic analysis, from head to toe. Coolmore (her owners) insisted. They didn't find anything wrong that was ever made public but the filly spent the summer hanging out in her stall.

IEAH is the midst of building a new equine hospital next door to Belmont Park. Let's hope that they put their future staff to work checking out Big Brown so he can run again. If they are going to be in the equine health business this fall anyway, they can get a head start and protect the horse from further injury or illness if there is any doubt.

Event Wrapup: UPenn Technical Horseshoeing Symposium at New Bolton Center

2008 speakers at the University of Pennsylvania's Technical Horseshoeing Conference: (left to right) Course organizer and UPenn resident farrier Pat Reilly; Dr. Jeff Thomason from University of Guelph, Canada; equine podiatrist Bryan Fraley DVM from Kentucky; hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay of New Jersey.

Technical horseshoeing covered a lot of ground at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center in Kennett Square on Saturday. From biomechanics to anatomy to podiatry and finally to 911-level hoof repair, speakers touched on many aspects of the scientific and practical bodies of information about the horse's hoof. Speakers zoomed in and out of the gray areas like the cars that would be passing me a few hours later on the way back to the Philadelphia airport.

The morning began with introductions and an overview of the new laminitis research center (tentatively called The Laminitis Institute) at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Jim Orsini, associate professor of surgery at New Bolton Center and director of the Institute, explained the exciting new concept to the audience. Click here to read more about the Institute.

Dr. Jeff Thomason lectured on the basics of foot biomechanics and the research undertaken in his laboratory at the University of Guelph in Canada. Included in his research was updated material on the finite element analysis modeling he has been working on, with beautiful graphic images. Later in the day, he spoke on the nuances of functional anatomy and the "design" of the horse's legs, with interesting images and challenges.

Thomason (shown at left, looking at a hoof capsule, in a University of Guelph photo) enlivened his presentations by standing on dinner plates (illustrating that weight alone won't fracture a fragile object), then smashing it with a hammer (showing the effect of force being much more destructive than mere weight). It's not easy keeping an audience awake during a biomechanics lecture, but smashing dinner plates with a rounding hammer definitely set a new standard.

Interestingly, Thomason's biomechanics research on vibrational properties of horseshoes found that unshod feet actually showed an increase in vibrationi over shod feet of about 25 percent, but he felt that it was statistically irrelevant, other than as an anecdote for those who use vibration as a criticism of horseshoes.

Conference leader Pat Reilly, who is now resident farrier at New Bolton Center, reviewed his use of high-tech measuring systems to question the probability factor of correcting what he feels are the universal malady of the horse's foot: underrun heels. According to a study quoted by Pat, as many as 60 percent of horses are affected by low-heel syndrome and he maintained that every foal he has seen has had underrun heels. He defines "underrun" at being as least five degrees lower than the toe angle, as set in stone by Tracy Turner DVM in published papers.

Reilly contends that underrun heels is an irreversible condition in many horses and a variation of normal hoof conformation.

Kentucky farrier Bryan Fraley DVM reviewed a deep file of cases related to puncture wounds, foot infections and cracks. He took the time to delve into the nuances of poulticing the foot, which many people skip right over. A number of his cases fell under the heading of "digital instability"--an apt moniker!

New Bolton Center has one of the best collections of antique horseshoes in the world. They were crafted in the 1800s by resident farrier and "professor of podology" Franz Enge, a German immigrant who was a disciple of the world-renowned Professor Lungwitz. At this end of the display are some modern braces and support devices for orthopedic cases.

On the second day, New Jersey farrier Bruce Daniels shared insights into the lovely antique shoes in the University's secret vault of farrier treasures and New Zealand native farrier Trevor Sutherland worked at the forge with attendees.

Man of the moment: Ian McKinlay (Pat Reilly photo)

Hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay escaped from the mobs of press at Belmont Park, where he had been working on Triple Crown hopeful Big Brown, to drive down to Pennsylvania and speak at the University of Pennsylvania's Technical Horseshoeing Symposium on Saturday.

Yes, he did show Big Brown's week-old quarter crack, which is sutured (not patched over) in a way I had not seen before. Hopefully, I can post some photos soon.

McKinlay acknowledged that that farrier world "is trying to move forward" but gave evidence of progress on several fronts, such as the loosening of the Belmont track after Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow, complained that it was too hard. "Times slowed down," McKinlay said, "and people were saying, 'Hey, nice cushion'!"

He asked the audience to help him list the disadvantages of glue on shoes and went on to explain more about Big Brown's abscesses and their consequences. He bemoaned the practice of leaving the bars lower than the walls, saying that this led to the prevalence of sore heels in racehorses.

This conference's goal, according to Pat Reilly is "to present scientific information relating to hoofcare"; "to describe techniques for managing hoof-related pathologies"; and to "create an atmosphere of open dialogue between New Bolton Center and the farrier/veterinarian community".

Those are all lofty and worthy goals. As with all such undertakings, the hardest step is the first one. By re-establishing this conference on the worldwide hoof science calendar, the University of Pennsylvania has the potential to add a valuable platter of substance to a table often overloaded with appetizers and desserts.

UPenn Technical Horseshoeing Symposium at New Bolton Center Announcement: Late Registration Opportunity

The forge at the University of Pennsylvania was originally in downtown Philadelphia and was one of the first buildings constructed on the campus when the school began. This photo was taken in the late 1800s; notice the bellows in the ceiling. (Double click on photo to view larger image; I believe that's a woman in the long apron down at the end of the room. Notice that the "students" are not wearing aprons; I bet they were proud of the cinder burns in their nice clothes.)

Event: Technical Horseshoeing Symposium at Penn Vet/New Bolton Center

Date: Saturday May 31 and Sunday June 1, 2008

Location: Woerner Amphitheatre in the George C. Widener Large Animal Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine at New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, PA (near Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware).

Wet labs will be held in the Outpatient Clinic of the Hospital, the Farrier Shop and the Pathology Lab.

Cost: Saturday or Sunday only $150, Saturday and Sunday $225

Highlights:
• Jeff Thomason lecture on functional anatomy of the limb, as well as hoof deformation and ground force interaction
• Bryan Fraley lecture on managing problems- from laminitis to hoof cracks to “hoof first-aid” (dealing with emergency hoof traumas).
• Jim Orsini will be updating the Laminitis Institute and the research projects underway at Penn
• Andrew Van Eps will discuss laminitis, cryotherapy and the effectiveness of commonly utilized techniques for cooling feet.
• Sunday’s wet labs include:
• Dissection of the equine limb with regard to biomechanics and anatomy by Jeff Thomason
• Shoeing lab with Bryan Fraley
• Bruce Daniels will discuss the Podological Museum of the University of Pennsylvania
• Trevor Sutherland will demonstrate forging techniques and shoe building

PLUS demonstration by hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay (featured on the Hoof Blog for his work with the Yasha glue-on shoe customized for champion racehorse Big Brown in the 2008 Triple Crown races)

Conference Format
Saturday, May 31, 2008- Lectures 8AM- 5PM
Sunday, June 1, 2008- Lectures 9AM- 11AM; Demonstrations 12PM -3PM

Hotel list available; nearest airport is Philadelphia.

More details: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/nbc/equine/farrier-symposium.htm
If you attend, please mention that you learned about the event on the Hoof Blog.

(Double click on page images to view and print full page flyer and registration form.)

Barbaro Update: Cast changes, heel abscess in right hind

From the University of Pennsylvania today:

“Barbaro was placed under anesthesia yesterday to have his left hind foot cast replaced,” said Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery. “We also removed the cast on his right hind leg and replaced it with a custom-fabricated plastic and steel orthotic brace to give his foot additional support.” An abscess near the lateral heel of his right hind foot was drained, and the brace that was applied will allow more regular treatment of that foot.

“Barbaro had another smooth pool-recovery and has been comfortable with an excellent attitude and appetite since then,” said Dr. Richardson. “We will probably replace his left hind foot cast under anesthesia again at least two or three times at roughly two-week intervals if his comfort is maintained. We were very pleased with the progress of his left hind foot since the last cast was applied.”

In addition, new shoes were placed on both front feet for additional support.